Aerosol valve



Oct. 13, 1959 P. C. GOODSPEED, JR

AEROSOL VALVE Filed Nov. 4, 1957 INVENTOR.

R6. Goodspeed, Jr BY Affomey United States Patent AEROSOL VALVEPerryCorneli Good speed, Jr., Norwich, N.Y., assignorto Cornell ValveCorp, Norwich, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application November .4,1957, Serial 180,694,441

4 Claims. (Cl. 25 1320) The present invention relates to valvemechanisms, and is particularly concerned with valve mechanisms forcontrolling the dispensing of fluids such as foams or sprays frompressurized containers of the type commonly known as aerosols. 7

An aerosol may be defined as a container which holds under pressure afluid to be dispensed as a foam or spray and a pressure producing agent,usually a liquid having a high vapor pressure at normal temperatures,whose expansion develops the pressure necessary to expel the product tobe dispensed from the container when the dispensing valve is open.Products dispensed from such containers include shaving creams,insecticides, and various other products. The product may be dispensedas a foam, as is usuallyfthe case with shaving cream, or it may bedispensed as a spray, as is commonly the case with insecticides.Aerosols are commonly manufactured on a .mass production basis. valvemechanism employed in such a device beinexpensive and easy to build. Itis also essential that the valve seal the container tightly againstleakage and loss of pressure and that the valve be easy to open by theapplication of manual force.

' object of the present invention is to provide a valve of the typedescribed which is simple in structure and inexpensive to manufacture.

' Another object is to provide a valve of the type described which sealstightly when closed, and may be readily opened by the application of asmall manual force.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention are attained byproviding a valve consisting of a compressible valve .member of rubberor the like having a conical operating surface which cooperates with acircular seat. Means are provided for opening the valve by applying tothe center of the cone, which'projects throngh the seat, a compressiveforce tending to push the conical valve member back through the seat.

The conical valve member is retained in place ad- It is essential thatany jacent the seat by a disc crimped in place in a cylindrical portionof the aerosol container. Preferably, this cylindrical portion is partof a top closure member which is crimped in place over the rolled edgeof the body of the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent froma consideration of the following specification and claims, takentogether with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational View of an aerosol container equipped with avalve embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the parts partiallydisassembled;

" Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the aerosol invertedand the valve open as during dispensing;

ice

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the parts of the valvemechanism itself, completely disassembled;

Fig. 6 is a view taken along the line VI-VI of Fig. 3, onan enlargedscale, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, showing a modified form of valvesupporting disc.

There is shown in the drawings an aerosol comprising a generallycylindrical container or can 1 having an open top with a rolled edge 1a,best seen in Fig. 3. The open top of the can 1 is covered by aclosuremember 2 which, like the container 1, may be formed of tin plate.Closure member 2 is a single stamping and comprises a generallycylindrical portion 2a adapted to fit inside the rolled edge 1a of thecan, a web portion 2b extending transversely from the lower edge of thecylindrical portion, another cylindrical portion 2c ,extending upwardlyfrom the web-portion 2b and terminating in a flat-portion 2d, which isprovided with a central aperture @e, which serves as a valveseat.

A valve member 3 has a generally conical external surface, which.conical surface is adapted to engage the seat 2e. The valve member 3 isconstructed .of compressible material such as rubber or the like. Theterm rubber as used herein is intended to include any of the varioussynthetic rubbers, or plastic or elastomeric materials, which maybesuitable for the purpose of constructing the valve. The material mustbe easily compressible and deformable by light pressures. The valve 3 isheld in place against the seat 2e by means of a disc 4. The disc 4 isretained within the cylidrical portion 2a of the cover (2 by crimpingthe sides of thecover, as shown at 2 in Fig. 3.

In assembling the valve mechanism, the valve memher 3 is first insertedagainst the seat 2e, and the disc 4 is then placed against the base ofthe valve member 3, and the sides of the cylindrical cover portion 2!;are crimped at 2 to hold the valve member 3 and the disc 4 in'place. Thecomplete assembly, including the cover 2, the valvemember 3, and thedisc 4, is then inserted into the opening in the top of the can 1, asillustrated in Fig. 3. After that insertion, a rolled marginal portion2g of the cover member is crimpegl over the rolled ledge 1a of the can llo hold the cover in place. The bottom of the wall 2a is also swagedorotherwise bent outwardly under the rollededge Ia, as shown in Fig, 2,to assist in retaining the cover in place. i

The disc 4 must-be provided with apertures disposed outwardly of theperiphery of the base of the valve member 3 to permit the passage offluid, or apertures mustbe provided betweenthe periphery of the disc 4and the cylindrical cover portion 2 0. The disc 4 may be in the form ofanotched disc 5, illustrated in Fig. 7, having notches 5a, which allowpassage of fluid past the disc outwardly of the valve member 3. Wherethe disc 5 is used, the crimping Zf'of the cylindrical cover portion 20may be uniform about the entire periphery of that portion, as shown at10 in Fig. 7. Alternatively, the crimping of the sides of thecylindrical portion 2 c may be done by four straight crimps 2h (see Fig.6), which form chords n the rcular cross-sec ion of h cy ndrical por:

tion 2c. If the cylindrical portion is crimped in this manner, then thematerial between the ends of the chords 2h is bulged outwardly, as shownat 6 in Fig. 7, providing apertures indicated-at 6a for the passage offluid outwardly of the unperforated and unnotched disc 4.

Whatever type of crimp is used, its spacing fromthe seat carryingportion 2d is so related to the dimensions of the valve member 3 and thedisc 4m 5 as to provide a forcedsealing engagement of the valve againstthe seat with the valve member free of engagement with the wall 20 andwithout covering the fluid passages 5a, 6a.

After the valve assembly is in place on the can 1, the canis filled byany suitable conventional filling mechanism which is provided withmechanism for depressing the tip portion of the valve member 3, therebypushing thevalve member away from the seat and allowing space for theentrance of fluid into the container.

After the container is filled, the pressure developed therein by thepropellant fluid acts against the disc 4 and provides an additionalforce holding the valve member 3 tightly against the seat 2e. After thevalve assembly is In place, a cap, including a valve operating memberand a nozzle structure is mounted on the topof the can. Such a cap isshown generally at 7 in Fig. 1. It is molded of flexible plasticmaterial and includes an outer cylindrical portion 7a, having alip 7b onthe inner side of its lower end. The lip 7b is adapted to slide over therolled edge 2g of the cover and snap in under it to hold the cap 7firmly in place. The cylindrical portion 7a is connected by a conicalweb 70 to an inner cylindrical portion 7d adapted to tightly fit overthe cylindrical portion 20 of the closure member 2. Projecting down fromthe upper end of the cap 7 at the center of the cylindrical portion 7dis an operating pin 8. The space between the pin 8 and the cylindricalportion 7d communicates with a dispensing nozzle 9 formed integrallywith the cap 7.

When it is desired to dispense material from the aerosol, it isinverted, as is conventional with such devices, and as shown in Fig. 4,and the resilient cap 7 is squeezed toward the can 1, deforming the cap7 and pushing the pin 8 against the top of the conical valve member 3,thereby forcing it away from its seat 2e and allowing fluid in the can 1to flow out past the disc 4 through the apertures and past the valveseat 2e. Upon the release of the pressure on the cap 7, the pin 8 andthe valve member 3 spring back to their normal positions, in which thepin 8 just clears the tip of the valve member, and the valve memberengages the seat 2e.

The specific structure illustrated for the cap 7 is not a part of myinvention. Any other cap may be used with a valve constructed inaccordance with the invention, as long as the cap has an operating pinor equivalent structure, and some means to hold that pin in an operativeposition with respect to the valve.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,other modifications thereof will readily occur to those skilled in theart, and I therefore intend my invention to be limited only by theappended I claim:

1. A valve comprising a cylindrical seat element of stamped sheet metalincluding an end wall and a side wall integral with the end wall at itsperiphery, said end wall having a circular central opening constitutingan outlet, the portion of the end wall extending marginally about theopening and within the side wall constituting a valve seat, saidcylindrical seat element being open at the end of the side wall remotefrom the end wall to provide an inlet, a valve member of compressibleresilient material having a flat base portion and a convex apex portionnarrower than and in opposed relation to said base portion and larger indiameter than the outlet, said valve member tapering from the baseportion to the apex portion, said valve member having all its dimensionsparallel to the base surface substantially smaller than the internaldimensions of the side wall, said valve'member being located within theside wall and cooperating therewith to define an annular passage, a support element for said valve member, said support element beingrelatively rigid as compared to said valve member and having at leastportions of its peripheral surface cylindrical and engaging the insidesurface of the side Wall to center the support element with respect tathe wall, said support element having a flat surface transverse to saidcylindrical surface and abutting the flat base portion of the valvemember, said support element having passages therein providing fluidcommunication between said inlet and said annular passage, said valvemember and said support element being insertable through the inlet intothe cylindrical seat element, means integral with one of said elementsto retain the support element within the cylindrical seat element at aposition where the support element and the end wall cooperate tocompress the valve member, said apex portion of the valve member and theend wall cooperating, in the event of misalignment of the valve memberapex portion and the outlet, to apply to the valve member a forcetending to center the apex portion in the outlet, the abutting flatsurfaces of the valve member and the support element accommodatinglateral movement of thevalve member by said force necessary toaccomplish said centering, said support element and end wall thencooperating to hold the apex portion of the valve member in forcedsealing engagement with the seat, a valve operating pin, meanssupporting the pin at the opposite side of the end wall from the valvemember in a normal position where it is adjacent the valve member butineffective to compress the valve member and in alignment with theoutlet, said pin being smaller in diameter than the outlet, said pinsupporting means being movable to shift the pin from its normal positioninto engagement with the apex portion of the valve member to compressthe valve further and move the apex portion out of engagement with theseat, thereby opening the valve to provide fluid communication betweenthe annular passage and the outlet.

2. A valve comprising an integral cylindrical seat element of rigidmaterial including an end wall and a side wall integral with the endwall at its periphery, said end wall having a circular central openingconstituting an outlet, the portion of the end wall extending marginallyabout the opening and within the side wall constituting a valve seat,said cylindrical seat element being open at the end of the side wallremote from the end wall to provide an inlet, a valve member ofcompressible resilient material having a flat base portion and a convexapex portion narrower than and in opposed relation to said base portionand larger in diameter than the outlet, said valve member tapering fromthe base portion to the apex portion, said valve member having all itsdimensions parallel to the base surface substantially smaller than theinternal dimensions of the side wall, said valve member being locatedwithin the side wall and cooperating therewith to define an annularchamber, a support element for said valve member, said support elementbeing relatively rigid as compared to said valve member and having atleast portions of its peripheral surface cylindrical and engaging theinside surface of the side wall to center the support element withrespect to the wall, said support element having a flat surfacetransverse to said cylindrical surface and abutting the flat baseportion of the valve member, means including a portion of said supportelement defining at least one passage providing fluid communicationbetween said inlet and said annular chamber, said valve member and saidsupport element being insertable through the inlet into the cylindricalseat element, means integral with one of said elements to retain thesupport element within the cylindrical seat element at a position wherethe support element and the end Wall cooperate to compress the valvemember, said apex portion of the valve member and the end wallcooperating, in the event of misalignment of the valve member apexportion and the outlet, to apply to the valve member a force tending tocenter the apex portion in the outlet, the abutting flat surfaces of thevalve member and the support element accommodating lateral movement ofthe valve member by said force necessary to accomplish said centering,said support element and end Wall then cooperating to hold the apexportion of the valve member in forced sealing engagement with the seat,a valve operating pin, means supporting the pin at the opposite side ofthe end wall from 5 the valve member in a normal position where it isadjacent the valve member but ineflfective to compress the valve memberand in alignment with the outlet, said pin being smaller in diameterthan the outlet, said pin supporting means being movable to shift thepin from its normal position into engagement with the apex portion ofthe valve member to compress the valve member further and move the apexportion out of engagement with the seat, thereby opening the valve toprovide [fluid communication between the annular passage and the outlet.

3. A valve as defined in claim 2, in which said support element has itsperipheral surface entirely cylindrical and said passage defining meansincludes a portion of said cylindrical surface and an outwardly deformedportion of the side wall opposite said cylindrical surface portion.

4. A valve as defined in claim 2, in which said support element hasnotches between said cylindrical portions of its peripheral surface,said notches constituting said passage defining means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

